Method, system, and apparatus for verifying employment via a plurality of data sources

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method for verifying employment of a first user with a computer system programmed to perform the method includes receiving a first name for a user-represented employer via a user-application, receiving a first plurality of social network data associated with the first user from a first social network server, wherein the first plurality of social network data includes a second name associated with an user-represented employer via a user-profile on the first social network, determining a relationship between the employer associated with the first name and the employer associated with the second name, in response to the first name and to the second name, determining an employment verification indicator in response to the relationship between the employer associated with the first name to the employer associated to the second name and outputting with the computer system, the employment verification indicator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application which claims priority toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/538,879, filed Jun. 29, 2012, whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Application. No. 61/504,130 filedJul. 1, 2011, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/548,111 filed Oct. 17,2011, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/565,451 filed Nov. 30, 2011,U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/596,228 filed Feb. 8, 2012, and U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/614,480 filed Mar. 22, 2012. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/538,879, filed Jun. 29, 2012, is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/114,979filed May 24, 2011, which claims priority from U.S. ProvisionalApplication Nos. 61/467,381 filed Mar. 25, 2011, 61/436,523 filed Jan.26, 2011 and 61/359,766 filed Jun. 29, 2010; a continuation-in-part ofU.S. application Ser. No. 13/114,989 filed May 24, 2011, which claimspriority from U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 61/467,381 filed Mar.25, 2011, 61/436,523 filed Jan. 26, 2011 and 61/359,766 filed Jun. 29,2010; and a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/308,465 filed Nov. 30, 2011 that claims benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Nos. 61/436,523 filed Jan. 26, 2011 and 61/647,381 file Mar.25, 2011. These disclosures are incorporated by reference herein for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to user data verification. In specificembodiments, the invention relates to verification of a user's currentemployment, a user's current educational status, or the like.

Potential financial risk takers (risk takers) often desire to verifyrepresentations made by a user, before taking a financial risk on behalfof the user. As an example, many risk takes desire to verify a user'semployment and/or cash flow to determine whether the user is likely tosatisfy the user's obligations to the risk taker. The verification (orvalidation) may be desirable for a variety of purposes, such as forpayday loans, installment loans, revolving credit such as credit cards,auto loans, leases, rentals of property, loans secured by real property,loans secured by personal property, insurance arrangements, vendors thatgrant credit such as phone companies and utilities, financialtransactions, employment, check cashing, and the like.

In addition to employment verification (e.g. validation), users mighthave other characteristics that can be verified by the risk taker tohelp them determine whether to take the risk on behalf of the user, i.e.income verification. Some of the other characteristics that may beverified may include the user's current compensation, length ofemployment at the employer, past employment history, stability ofemployment (e.g. has the user changed jobs frequently), “depth ofrelationships” at their employer (e.g. number of contacts with otheremployees of the company), educational history, current educationalstatus, and the like.

The inventor is currently aware of, several common methods to verifyemployment of a user. One common technique has been a risk-taker (or anagent of the risk taker) directly calling the Human Resource Department(or user's superior) of a company, organization, or the like to verifythe user's employment. One drawback to such an approach is that the sizeof the transaction may not justify the cost of contacting the purportedemployer. The fully weighted cost of such a phone call (includingpotential “phone tag”) is believed to be around $5-$20. Another drawbackto such an approach is that it is often difficult for one to locate theappropriate Human Resource Department or to locate the user's superior.Another drawback is that the user might give out a friend's or acontact's name and number, who then poses as an HR Resources Departmentor superior. That person may then give the risk taker/caller falseinformation that could induce the risk taker into granting the usercredit. Yet another drawback is the delay in the time it takes toconfirm employment by calling. For example an employer might not be open24 hour per day, 7 days per week for employment verification purposes.Further as it can be imagined, to an employer, the verification ofemployment of a current or former employee is typically a low prioritymatter, and some employers may take days before responding to a request.Another drawback is that these types of verifications can beembarrassing to the employee, i.e. an invasion of privacy.

Another technique has been the use of a contributory data model. In sucha model, third party employment verification service providers (i.e.fee-based, TALX) review submitted user names against a database ofemployment records. To enable this service, the service providers aretypically granted specific access to different companies' employmentrecord databases, or the like. One drawback to such an approach is thatcoverage of small to medium-sized employers, governments, and the likeis very limited. In other words, such third party verification servicestypically only contract with large companies. It would not be worth theverification service's time to set up a relationships with the millionsof small to medium-sized employers and to have them contribute theiremployment records into the shared database. This is especially believedto be true because of the small demand and small number of queries forthe records of those small to medium-sized employers. Another drawbackto such an approach is that such services are expensive, as they requiresignificant infrastructure and on-going relationship management.Additional drawbacks are the amount of money charged by the third partyemployment verification service providers is material (between $5 and$20 per lookup in some cases); the databases are often out of date(e.g. >one month old); and that all large employers do not participatein such systems.

In light of the above, what is desired are ways to verify userrepresentations of data on applications or the like without thedrawbacks described above.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates to verification of user-represented data.In specific embodiments, the invention relates to verification of auser's current employment, a user's current educational status, or thelike.

In some embodiments, a user provides a name of a company who they workfor via an electronic application, or the like to a verification server.The user also authorizes the verification server to access selected datafrom the user's social profile in one or more social networks, such asthe employer name, and the like. In various embodiments, theverification server compares the employer name on the user's applicationto the employer name on the user's social network profile to determinewhether they are the same employer. Depending upon the degree ofmatching, the verification server returns an employment verificationscore and/or provides a user interface for viewing of the employmentverification score, and the like.

In some embodiments, a user provides a name of a company who they workfor via an electronic application, or the like to a verification server.The user also authorizes the verification server to access selected datafrom the user's social profile in one or more social networks, such associal network contacts, and the like. In various embodiments, theverification server determines employer names for the user's socialnetwork contacts, and compares the employer name on the user'sapplication to employer's of the user's social network contacts. Theverification server identifies how many social network contacts of theuser are the same as the employer provided by the user and determines anemployment verification score. In some embodiments, the amount ofcommunication between each of the identified social network contactsand/or the user are determined. Depending upon the number of socialnetwork contacts at the same employer and/or the quality ofcommunication there between, the verification server determines anemployment verification score. In some embodiments, the verificationserver then outputs the employment verification score and/or provides auser interface for viewing of the employment verification score, and thelike. In some embodiments, the number of users in common are also used.

In some embodiments, a user provides a name of a company who they workas well as a work e-mail address/telephone number for via an electronicapplication, or the like to a verification server. In variousembodiments, the verification server determines whether the work e-mailaddress is associated with the company. If so, the verification serversends a communication to the user to the work e-mail address requiringthe user to confirm the email address. In various embodiments, theconfirmation may take the form of requiring the user to .click upon aspecific web link, send a reply e-mail, call a specific telephonenumber, or the like. In some embodiments, instead of the verificationserver sending an e-mail to the user's work email address, the userinitiates the process by sending an e-mail to the verification serverfrom the user's work e-mail address. Depending upon whether the userreplies and/or when the user replies, the verification server determinesan employment verification score. In some embodiments, the verificationserver then outputs the employment verification score and/or provides auser interface for viewing of the employment verification score, and thelike.

In various embodiments, the inventor has recognized that multipleelectronic data sources can be used to determine or verify useremployment. In general, two or more such electronic data sources may beaccessed and compared to determine the likelihood that the user isactually employed by a particular employer. The likelihood is typicallyrepresented as a percentage, a score, or the like. Some of theelectronic data sources may include:

employment data provided by the user on an electronic application;

employment data represented by the user on one or more social networks(it also could be represented by third parties);

employment data of the user that is derived from a social graph of theuser on one or more social networks;

verification of a company or employer associated with the user'scorporate e-mail address (taking advantage of the fact that corporationstypically only allow current employees to have corporate emailaddresses). In some embodiments, the e-mail prefix is often set using acertain formula, e.g. “user_firstname.user_lastname”;

employer data that can be derived from an IP address from where the useris submitting an application from (usually only employees have access toa corporate network that has one or more corporate IP address associatedtherewith);

employer data that can be derived from a tax return, W2 form, or thelike;

employer data that can be derived from a user-provided work telephonenumber;

employer data that can be derived from a work e-mail address of theuser;

employer data that can be derived from one or more publically-availableand/or fee-based databases, data source, data aggregators (e.g.Spokeo.com);

employer data that can be derived from one or more bank accountdepository data (e.g. ACH header data from a direct deposit from anemployer) (e.g. WellsFargo.co-derived data, Yodlee.com-derived,Mint.com-derived data);

a user selection of an employer name from a drop-down list or autocomplete list (e.g. from a list of actual employers);

a text submission (e.g. a web form, “app.”) by the user; and the like.

In various embodiments, at least two of the above sources may becompared to determine an employment verification score. In someembodiments the degree of matching between at least two of the abovesources is taken into account. In some embodiments, if the initialemployment verification score with two sources is below a threshold, oneor more other sources of employment data, described above, may berequested/accessed. In some cases, the additional sources of employmentdata may increase or decrease the employment verification score.

In some embodiments, the employment verification score may be returnedto an employment verification requester in a web-based dashboard typegraphical user interface, an e-mail message, XML response or the like.The employment verification requester may be a potential employer, amoney lending company (e.g. a mortgage company (e.g. Bank of America,Wells Fargo), a pay-day loan company, an automobile loan company (e.g.credit union, automobile company finance company), a lessor (e.g. rentalcompany), other financial risk takers (e.g. life insurance company, anunderwriter)), remittance providers, cash advances, check cashing, orthe like, as discussed above.

Employments of the present invention relates to employment verificationand/or scoring. The methods described below are computer-implementedtechniques performed on one or more computer systems that arespecifically programmed by executable software code to perform thefunctions described below. A general-purpose computer having aprocessor, a memory, and a network connection may be programmed by thisexecutable software code to become a special purpose computer systemthat performs this functionality. In some embodiments, thegeneral-purpose computer may include a display, a user entry device(e.g. keyboard, mouse), and the like. In some embodiments, the specialpurpose computer system may communicate with other special purposecomputer systems, such as a database, remote server, a user machine, asecurity server, or the like, via the network connection. Someembodiments may be executed on such a general-purpose computer and thefunctionality of such embodiments may be available via one or morecallable application program interfaces (APIs), XML, and the like. Incertain cases, an API call can be performed with a website address withan oAuth token, or the like. In some cases, the computer system may be adesktop computer, laptop computer, mobile phone (iPhone, GalaxyS3),tablet device (e.g. iPad), mobile terminal, kiosk, and the like.

According to one aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented methodfor verifying employment of a first user with a computer systemprogrammed to perform the method is disclosed. One method includesreceiving with the computer system, a first name associated with anorganization represented by the first user as an employer on auser-application, and receiving with the computer system, a firstplurality of social network data associated with the first user from afirst social network server, wherein the first plurality of socialnetwork data includes a second name associated with an organizationrepresented by the first user as an employer on a user-profile on thefirst social network, wherein the first social network server comprisesa network server provided by, for example: Facebook, Google+, Twitter,LinkedIn, Plaxo, MySpace, e-mail. One process includes determining withthe computer system, a relationship between the organization associatedwith the first name and the organization associated with the secondname, in response to the first name and to the second name, anddetermining with the computer system, an employment verificationindicator in response to the relationship between the organizationassociated with the first name to the organization associated to thesecond name. One technique includes outputting with the computer system,the employment verification indicator.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer system coupledto a first social network server for verifying employment of a firstuser with a computer system programmed to perform the method isdescribed. One apparatus includes a memory configured to store a firstname associated with an organization represented by the first user as anemployer on a user-application. A system includes a processor coupled tothe memory, wherein the processor is instructed by executable softwarecode to receive, a first plurality of social network data associatedwith the first user from a first social network server, wherein thefirst plurality of social network data includes a second name associatedwith an organization represented by the first user as an employer on auser-profile on the first social network, wherein the first socialnetwork server comprises a network server associated with, for example:Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Plaxo, MySpace, e-mail, and the like, andwherein the processor is instructed by the executable software code todetermine whether the organization associated with the first name isrelated to the organization associated with the second name, in responseto the first name and to the second name. In some embodiments, theprocessor is instructed by the executable code to determine anemployment verification indicator in response to a relatednessdetermination of the organization associated with the first name to theorganization associated to the second name, and the processor isinstructed by the executable code to output, the employment verificationindicator.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-implementedmethod for verifying employment of a first user with a computer systemprogrammed to perform the method is disclosed. One method includesreceiving with the computer system, an OAuth token, or the like, toaccess social network data associated with a user from a social networkselected from a group consisting of: LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, andsending with the computer system, the OAuth token to the social network.One technique includes sending with the computer system, one or more APIcalls to the social network, receiving with the computer system, anidentifier of a first organization represented by the first user as anemployer in response to an on-line loan application process. A processincludes receiving with the computer system, a first plurality of socialnetwork data associated with the social network, wherein the firstplurality of social network data includes an identifier of a secondorganization represented by the first user as an employer, anddetermining with the computer system, whether the first organization isassociated with the second organization in response to the identifier ofthe first organization and to the identifier of the second organization.A methodology may include determining with the computer system, anemployment verification indicator in response to when the firstorganization is determined to be associated with the secondorganization, and outputting with the computer system the employmentverification indicator. In other embodiments, publically-available datamay be used to determine the employment verification score or indicator.This may include social network data of the user that is available tothird-parties, without OAuth authorization, or the like. In otherembodiments, publically-available data may include free data sources,fee-based data sources, or the like.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-implementedmethod for verifying employment of a user with a computer systemprogrammed to perform the method is disclosed. One technique includesreceiving with the computer system, an organization represented by theuser as an employer on a user-application, and receiving with thecomputer system, an e-mail address provided by the user, wherein thee-mail address is represented by the user as an e-mail address of theuser at the employer. A process may include determining with thecomputer system, whether the e-mail address provided by the user isassociated with the employer, and determining with the computer system,an association indicator associated with the user in response to thedomain name and/or prefix of the e-mail address provided by the userbeing determined to be associated with the employer. A method mayinclude determining with the computer system an employment verificationindicator associated with the user in response to the associationindicator and outputting with the computer system the employmentverification indicator.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-implementedmethod for determining in near real-time an employment verificationscore on a computer system programmed to perform the method, isdisclosed. One method may include receiving in the computer system, aname of an individual, receiving in the computer system, an employername, wherein the employer name is provided by the individual and isrepresented by the individual as an employer of the individual, anddetermining in the computer system, at least one e-mail domain namesassociated with the employer in response to the employer name. Atechnique may include determining in the computer system, at least oneexpected user names associated with the individual, in response to theemployer name and in response to the name of the individual, determiningin the computer system, at least one expected e-mail address associatedwith the individual in response to the e-mail domain name and theexpected user name, and sending from the computer system, the expectede-mail address associated with the individual to an e-mail serverassociated with the e-mail domain name. A process may includedetermining in the computer system, whether the expected e-mail addressassociated with the individual is rejected from the e-mail server, andoutputting from the computer system, an employment verification scoreassociated with the individual in response to whether the expectede-mail address associated with the individual is rejected. In variousembodiments, the expected e-mail address is sent to the e-mail serverassociated with the e-mail domain name via a port. In some examples, theport may be port 25, port 587, or the like.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer system coupledfor verifying employment of a first user with a computer systemprogrammed to perform the method is described. One apparatus includes amemory configured to store an organization represented by the user as anemployer on a user-application. A system includes a processor coupled tothe memory, wherein the processor is instructed by executable softwarecode to receive an e-mail address provided by the user, wherein thee-mail address is represented by the user as an e-mail address of theuser at the employer, and wherein the processor is instructed byexecutable software code to determine whether the e-mail addressprovided by the user is associated with the employer. In someembodiments, the processor is instructed by executable software code todetermine an association indicator associated with the user in responseto the domain name of the e-mail address provided by the user beingdetermined to be associated with the employer, the processor isinstructed by executable software code to determine an employmentverification indicator associated with the user in response to theassociation indicator, and wherein the processor is instructed byexecutable software code to output the employment verification indicatorto a remote server.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-implementedmethod for verifying employment of a user with a computer systemprogrammed to perform the method is disclosed. One technique includesreceiving with the computer system, a first plurality ofemployment-related data for the user, and determining with the computersystem, a first name associated with an organization in response to thefirst plurality of employment-related data. One process includesreceiving with the computer system, a second plurality ofemployment-related data for the user and determining with the computersystem, a second name associated with an organization in response to thesecond plurality of employment-related data. A method may includedetermining with the computer system, a relationship between theorganization associated with the first name and the organizationassociated with the second name, in response to the first name and tothe second name, determining with the computer system, an employmentverification indicator in response to the relationship between theorganization associated with the first name to the organizationassociated to the second name, and outputting with the computer system,the employment verification indicator.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a system coupled forverifying employment of a first user with a computer system programmedto perform the method is disclosed. A device may include a memoryconfigured to store executable software code. An apparatus may include aprocessor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is instructed bythe executable software code to receive a first plurality ofemployment-related data for the user, and wherein the processor isinstructed by the executable software code to determine a first nameassociated with an organization in response to the first plurality ofemployment-related data. In various embodiments, the processor isinstructed by the executable software code to receive a second pluralityof employment-related data for the user, and wherein the processor isinstructed by the executable software code to determine a second nameassociated with an organization in response to the second plurality ofemployment-related data. In some embodiments, the processor isinstructed by the executable software code to determine a relationshipbetween the organization associated with the first name and theorganization associated with the second name, in response to the firstname and to the second name, the processor is instructed by theexecutable software code to determine an employment verificationindicator in response to the relationship between the organizationassociated with the first name to the organization associated to thesecond name, and the processor is instructed by the executable softwarecode to output the employment verification indicator.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a computer-implementedmethod for verifying educational history of a user with a computersystem programmed to perform the method is disclosed. One techniqueincludes receiving with the computer system, a first plurality ofeducational history-related data for the user, and determining with thecomputer system, a first name associated with an organization inresponse to the first plurality of educational history-related data. Aprocess includes receiving with the computer system, a second pluralityof educational history-related data for the user, and determining withthe computer system, a second name associated with an organization inresponse to the second plurality of educational history-related data. Amethod includes determining with the computer system, a relationshipbetween the organization associated with the first name and theorganization associated with the second name, in response to the firstname and to the second name, determining with the computer system, aneducational history indicator in response to the relationship betweenthe organization associated with the first name to the organizationassociated to the second name, and outputting with the computer system,the educational history indicator. In various embodiments, theeducational history of the user is selected from a group consisting of:a school attended by the user, a school from which the user graduated, aschool currently attended by the user. In various embodiments, suchverifications may augment employment verification, income verification,e-mail verification, IP verification, and the like, as described herein.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a computer-implementedmethod for determining a user work-stability indicator with a computersystem programmed to perform the method is disclosed. One processincludes receiving with the computer system, a first plurality of socialnetwork data associated with a user from a first social network server,wherein the first plurality of social network data includes a pluralityof names associated with organizations represented by the first user asemployers on a user-profile on the first social network, wherein thefirst social network server comprises a network server associated with:Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, MySpace, and a plurality ofdates associated with the plurality of names, determining with thecomputer system, an employment stability indicator associated with theuser in response to the plurality of names and plurality of dates, andoutputting with the computer system, the employment verificationindicator associated with the user.

In some embodiments, a verification server may store the data providedby the users, including, user name, IP address, purported employer,e-mail address, or the like in a database. As the stored data increases,the database may be used as an additional source of verification data.For example, valid formats of user e-mail prefixes for differentcompany's can be determined, valid nicknames for company's can bedetermined, valid IP addresses associated with different company's canbe determined, and the like. Accordingly, upon input of a subsequentuser, the database may quickly determine the likelihood that the userworks at the purported employer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more fully understand the present invention, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings arenot to be considered limitations in the scope of the invention, thepresently described embodiments and the presently understood best modeof the invention are described with additional detail through use of theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A-B illustrate a block diagram of a process according to variousembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a flow chart according to variousembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a flow chart according to someembodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-C illustrate a block diagram of a process according to variousembodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A-C illustrate a graphical user interfaces (GUIs) according tovarious embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A-C illustrate graphical user interfaces (GUIs) according tovarious embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of typical computer system 900 according tovarious embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In various embodiments of the present invention, when a user desires toenter into a financial agreement with a risk taker, the risk taker maywish to verify or validate one or more assertions made by the user in auser-application. Some of these assertions may include employment,employment history, employment dates and stability, employment title orposition, educational status, schools attended, residential address, andthe like. In many cases if the user misrepresents themselves on theuser-application, the risk taker may be hesitant to take on the risk(e.g. providing a loan, an installment loan, a payday loan, a mortgage,a credit card, a job, a rental, insurance, underwriting, etc.)

Employment Verification Concept—Social Network-based Verification ofUser-Represented Employer

FIGS. 1A-B illustrate a block diagram of a process according to variousembodiments of the present invention. More specifically, FIGS. 1A-Billustrate embodiments of the verification methodology includeretrieving and reviewing data provided by a user on the user's socialgraph.

In various embodiments, a user is prompted to fill in a user-applicationfor a risk-taker in the context of an on-line web-site associated with arisk taker or a verification service, step 100. In other embodiments,the user may be prompted to enter data in a portable device application(e.g. Android app, iPhone app) provided by the risk taker orverification service. In still other embodiments, the user may be givena paper application by such parties.

In response, the user fills-in the user application, step 110. Invarious embodiments, the user may use a keyboard to enteruser-application data electronically through a web-form submission, anapplication on a device (e.g. phone, tablet), a kiosk, or the like. Inother embodiments, the user may write answers on paper, and the like. Intypical applications, the user may make representations aboutthemselves, such as their current employer, current position, currentsalary, length of time at the employer, address, educationalaccomplishments, and the like.

In some embodiments, the user-application data is received by arisk-taker or verification service, step 120. In some embodiments, theelectronic data is received directly, and in other embodiments, the userapplication data is derived by optical character recognition techniquesupon text entered by a user and/or upon fill-in-bubbles filled-in by auser, or the like.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A-B, in some embodiments, the risk-taker orverification service requests that the user authenticate themselves viaone or more social networks (e.g. Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Plaxo, orthe like) as part of the application process, step 130. In someembodiments, the user is required to authenticate themselves before theuser-application is considered, and in some embodiments, the user can beencouraged to authenticate themselves on a social network. As examplesof the latter, the user may be offered a greater chance for approval, alower interest rate, a lower repayment period, a lower premium, a lowermonthly payment, or the like.

In various embodiments, the user authenticates themselves within thesocial network, typical via one or more API calls to the social network.Typically this is performed within the framework of the applicationprocess, step 140. As one example, during the application process, theuser may click on a social network icon, e.g. Facebook, Google+,LinkedIn, Plaxo, ConnectCollect, or the like. In response, a logininterface, provided by the social network, prompts the user for theirauthentication data (e.g. username/password). The user submits therequested data to the social network, and upon successful verificationby the social network, the social network authenticates the user withinthe application process.

In various embodiments, in addition to the above authentication step,the user typically also authorizes what types of data they will allow tobe retrieved from the social network, step 150. In some examples, dataauthorized to be retrieved from the social network may include socialcontacts of the user, employment data (e.g. employer names, positions,employment dates, etc.), educational data (e.g. schools attended,degrees earned, employment dates), address data, and the like.

In some embodiments of the present invention, social networks typicallyassociate the user authentication and data authorization with a token orcookie that is provided to the risk-taker or verification service, step160. In some embodiments, the token may be an oAuth token, Open IDtoken, or the like.

Next, in various embodiments, using the token, the risk-taker orverification service calls one or more Social Network APIs, and/or XMLcalls step 170. In response, the risk-taker or verification servicereceives data from the social profile of the user, step 180. In someembodiments directed to employment verification, the data received mayinclude an employer name, employment dates, positions, salary, asupervisor name, a supervisor telephone, a user work telephone, or thelike.

In various other embodiments described below, other types of socialnetwork data associated with the user may be returned, such as socialcontacts of the user, educational data, interest data, messages to andfrom the user, and the like.

In various embodiments, the risk-taker or verification service comparesthe employer named by the user (user application employer) in step 110,for example, matches or is related to the employer named in the user'ssocial network (user social network employer). As will be describedfurther below, a degree of matching of the user application employer andthe user social network employer may be determined, step 190. In variousembodiments, a representation for the degree of matching may begenerated in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI), step 200, andthe GUI may be sent and displayed to the risk taker or the verificationservice, step 210. In some embodiments, the degree of matching may bereturned in an e-mail, text message, graphical user interface, web page,or the like.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a flow chart according to variousembodiments of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 2illustrates a more detailed flow chart of process for determining adegree of matching in step 190. In various embodiments, the employername provided by the user in different contexts, e.g. application,social network, etc. may be different, even though they refer to thesame employer. Additionally, the name provided may be different from alegal name of the employer, corporate name of the employer, or the like.In various embodiments a fuzzy logic process, or the like may be appliedto the user-provided employer names before a degree of matching may bedetermined.

As examples of the user providing different employer names, in a firstsocial network site, the user may identify her employer as IBM, and in asecond social network site, the user may identify her employer as IBMUK; in one social graph, the user may identify his employer as PARC, andin another social graph, it may be Xerox. In embodiments of the presentinvention, many techniques for correlating user-represented employmentdata are contemplated. As one example, if the user's work place e-mailis provided, the domain name provided may be checked against a database,or the like, of known domain names of various companies. Using the PARCexample, above, a user may be employed for PARC, and have a domaine-mail address of @PARC.com. In such a case, because the databasereflects that PARC.com and Xerox.com are owned by the same legal entity,this is a strong indicator that the user-application employer namematches the user social network employer name.

In other embodiments, other types of user-related employment data mayneed to be normalized. As examples, in one social graph, the user mayidentify her employer address as Czechoslovakia, and in another socialgraph the user may identify her employer address as the Czech Republic;in one social graph, the user may identify his supervisor in surnamefirst order, e.g. Lin, Jeremy, and in another social graph, the user mayidentify his supervisor in given name first order, e.g. Jeremy Lin; andthe like. Additionally, in some embodiments, it is recognized that onesocial graph (e.g. Facebook) and another social graph (e.g. LinkedIn)may return user data in different types and formats of data in responseto the same question. For example, one social graph may returnemployment dates in the form of calendar start and stop dates andanother social graph may simply return employment duration, or how longago the user worked there. As another example, one social graph mayseparate employment by industry, and another social graph may simplylist employment. In light of the above, embodiments of the presentinvention normalize between types or formats of data provided by socialgraphs, user-applications, and the like.

In various embodiments, one or more first employer names are determinedfrom the user application employer name, step 250. This may includedetermining one normalized employer name or a series of alternativeemployer names. As mentioned above, numerous methods may be used toperform this function. In one example, this may include comparing theuser application employer name against a database of corporate names,subsidiaries, joint ventures, and the like. For example, in a database,the user application employer name “PARC” is associated with “Palo AltoResearch Center,” “Xerox,” “Xerox, Inc.,” and the like. Accordingly, insome embodiments, “Xerox, Inc.” is returned, and in other embodiments,the above list of alternative names is returned.

Additionally, one or more second employer names are determined from theuser social network employer name, step 260. This may includedetermining one normalized employer name or a series of alternativeemployer names. Numerous methods may be used to perform this function.In one example, this may include comparing the name to a database ofcorporate name aliases, or the like. For example, in a database the usersocial network employer “Pixar” is determined to be associated with“Pixar Animation Studios,” “Disney,” “The Walt Disney Company,” and thelike. Accordingly, in some embodiments, “The Walt Disney Company” isreturned, and in other embodiments, the above list of alternative namesis returned.

In various embodiments, the one or more first employer names arecompared to the one or more second employer names to determine anoverlap, step 270. As an example, if a user application employer name is“Lincoln Labs,” the one or more first employer names may include “MIT,”“M.I.T.,” and “Massachusetts Institute of Technology;” and if a usersocial network employer name is “MIT Lincoln Labs,” the one or morefirst employer names may include “Lincoln Labs,” “MIT”, and the like. Insuch a case, in the present embodiment, because both sets of namesinclude “MIT,” for example, the user application employer name may beconsidered to match the user social network employer name. In variousembodiments, an amount of overlap of the first employer names to thesecond employer names may be used to determine a degree of matching orscoring. In one example, the first employer names is identical to thesecond employer names, the degree of matching may be high; whereas ifonly one name out of 10 names from the first employer names matches onlyone name out of 10 names from the second employer names, the degree ofmatching may be low.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a flow chart according to someembodiments of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 3illustrates additional processes for determining a degree of matching.In various embodiments, based upon the social graph of the user from thesocial networks, one or more determinations may be made to see if theuser is connected with other persons who work at same employer. It isbelieved that the larger the number of social contacts, connections, orthe like that work at the company the user claims in an application(e.g. user application employer name), the higher the chance that theuser actually works there.

In various embodiments, after step 170, in FIG. 1A, the risk takerserver, or verification server makes one or more requests to the socialnetwork server for employment data for the user's friends from the listof contacts and employment data associated with the user's friends, step300. In some embodiments, one or more APIs and/or XML calls supported bythe social network server may be used to request employment data such asemployer name, employment dates, work e-mail address for one or more ofthe user's friends, or the like. In response the requested list of usercontact data and associated employment data is returned, step 310.

In various embodiments, a determination is made as to whether any of theuser's friends are employed by the same purported employer of the user,step 310. In some embodiments, similar to the above, the employment dataof the user is compared to the employment data of the user's friends,step 320. It is believed that the more friends of the user who work atthe same employer stated by user in the application, the higher thecertainty that the user actually works at the employer. For example, iffive of the user's friends also state that they work at the sameemployer on their social networks, the degree of matching may be higherthan if only one of the user's friend does. In other embodiments, thedegree of matching may depend upon a percentage of the user's friendswho work at the same employer. As examples, if 10% of the user's friendsalso state that the work the same employer, the degree of verificationis higher than if 1% of the user's friends also state that they work forthe same employer.

In some embodiments, for the user's friends who list the same employer,a determination can be made as to the quality (e.g. frequency or amount)of communication among the user's friends, step 330. The morecommunications between the user and/or between the user's friends haveamong each other, the higher the degree of matching, in someembodiments. In other embodiments, quality of communication among theuser's friends, or between the user's friends and the users may be basedupon factors other than frequency or amount, such as, number of wallcomments or posts on each other's pages, number of clicks of “like”s oneach other's pages, whether the user or other user's appear and areidentified in the same pictures or photos, when these communications aremade, and the like. The communications between the friends may also bedetermined via one or more API and/or XML calls to the social networkserver.

In some embodiments, degrees of additional verification may be performedupon the user's and or the user's friend's social network data. Forexample, in some embodiments, the work e-mail address of the user of theuser's friends' may be provided within the social network. In response,the domain name may be compared to domain names owned by the purportedemployers, the formatting of the email boxes (e.g. to the left of thedomain name), and the like, to determine a match. As examples,Jim@newcompany.com may be a domain owned by New Company, whereasJim@new-company.com may not be owned by New Company. Accordingly, if auser states in an application that they work for New Company, butprovides Jim@new-company.com, embodiments of the present invention maydetermine that the user does not work for New Company. In variousembodiments, an employer name may be checked against a database of US orforeign employers. In addition the employer name may be checked againstan e-mail domain name provided by the user as her company e-mailaddress. In various embodiments, such checking may also help indicatewhether the employer/company is valid. More detailed examples of theseembodiments are provided below.

In some embodiments, additional types of data may be referenced todetermine if a user works at the purported employer, or a degree ofmatching. For example, publically available data may be cross-referencedor accessed to help indicate whether the user actually works at theemployer. As examples, based upon the user entered employment data in anapplication, the user's salary and position may be cross-referencedagainst data from sites such as BLS, salary.com, Glassdoor, and thelike. In some embodiments, when the data conforms with the position andsalary ranges, this may help indicate that the user does actually workfor the self-reported company.

In various embodiments, based upon such these and other types ofcomparisons, the employment verification score may be determined, step340. The score, underlying data, flagged data, and the like may then beprovided in a GUI, step 350, that is displayed to the requester of theemployment verification, step 360, as was discussed, above.

In one specific embodiment, the following processes are performed todetermine a verification score. In this example, indentations representan affirmative response:

LinkedIn (LI) or Facebook (FB) Connected?

-   -   Employment field present (filled-in by user or selected by        drop-down menu)?        -   Match to Employer name from form (using fuzzy name            correction)?            -   Number of Friends that have same employer as form?                -   Friend still works there?                -    Contact of some sort made between friend and user                    (tagged photo, wall post, direct message)?                -    Contact made recently?                -    Increase score                -    Contact made a long time ago?                -    Maintain score                -    No Contact Made?                -    Decrease score                -   Friend no longer works there?                -    Contact of some sort made between friend and                    borrower (tagged photo, wall post, direct message)?                -    Contact made recently?                -    Maintain score                -    Contact made a long time ago?                -    Decrease score                -    No Contact Made?                -    Decrease score            -   Friends do not have same employer as form?                -   Decrease score        -   Not a Match to Employer name from form?            -   Friends have same employer as form?                -   Friend still works there?                -    Contact of some sort made between friend and                    borrower (tagged photo, wall post, direct message)?                -    Contact made recently?                -    Maintain or decrease score                -    Contact made a long time ago?                -    Decrease score                -    No Contact Made?                -    Decrease score                -    Friend no longer works there?                -    Contact of some sort made between friend and                    borrower (tagged photo, wall post, direct message)?                -    Contact made recently?                -    Maintain score                -    Contact made a long time ago                -    Decrease score                -    No Contact Made                -    Decrease score                -   Friends do not have same employer as form?                -    Decrease score            -   Friends have same employer as in Facebook?                -   Friend still works there?                -    Contact of some sort made between friend and                    borrower (tagged photo, wall post, direct message)?                -    Contact made recently?                -    Increase score                -    Contact made a long time ago?                -    Maintain score                -    No Contact Made?                -    Decrease score                -   Friend no longer works there?                -    Contact of some sort made between friend and                    borrower (tagged photo, wall post, direct message)?                -    Contact made recently?                -    Maintain score                -    Contact made a long time ago                -    Decrease score                -    No Contact Made                -    Decrease score            -   Friends do not have same employer as in Facebook?                -   Decrease score

In the above embodiments, the increase, decrease or maintaining ofverification scores may be modified, based upon ordinary design choicesin light of the present invention disclosure. Further, the weightings ofany increases or decreases may also vary based upon the same designchoices.

In some embodiments, the verification (validation) may also be performedon publically-available data (e.g. not requiring OAuth, or equivalent).In such embodiments, the risk taker or verification service may receiveuser input data (e.g. form submission, or the like), and compare suchdata against a publically-available or pay-based data sources (e.g.Spokeo, or the like).

Employment Verification Concept—Corporate E-mail Verification of UserRepresented Employer

In various embodiments, positive actions may be required of the user tohelp the risk taker or verification service verify that the user worksfor the user-reported employer (e.g. user application employment name).One embodiment involves sending an e-mail message to the work e-mailaddress the user provides during the application process and verifyingthe user has access to that email address. Such embodiments take intoaccount that usually only current employees are given an active emailaddresses by their employers. When an employee is no long employed,employers typically cut off user access to these email accountsimmediately.

FIGS. 4A-C illustrates a block diagram of a process according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In various embodiments, a user isprompted to fill in a user-application for a risk-taker in the contextof an on-line web-site associated with a risk taker or a verificationservice, step 400. In other embodiments, the user may be prompted toenter data in a portable device application (e.g. Android app, iPhoneapp) provided by the risk taker or verification service. In still otherembodiments, the user may be given a paper application by such parties.

In response, the user fills-in the user application, step 410. Invarious embodiments, the user may use a keyboard to enteruser-application data electronically through a web-form submission, anapplication on a device (e.g. phone, tablet), a kiosk, or the like. Inother embodiments, the user may write answers on paper, and the like. Intypical applications, the user may make representations aboutthemselves, such as their current employer, current position, currentsalary, length of time at the employer, address, educationalaccomplishments, and the like.

In some embodiments, the user-application data is received by arisk-taker or verification service, step 420. In some embodiments, theuser specifies a user-provided employer name, and a work-email address(e.g. e-mail address provided by the employer).

Next, in some embodiments, the risk taker or verification server pings adatabase of existing company email domains and compares that the domain(right of the @ symbol) of the user-provided email address to a databaseof corporate-owned domain names, step 430. In various embodiments, ifuser-provided domain name does not match a domain name owned by theuser-provided employer name, the verification score may be lowered, step440. In various embodiments, other types of employment verification maybe performed.

In various embodiments, the risk taker or verification server pings thedatabase of existing company email prefix formats with respect to theemail prefix of the user-provided email address, step 450. In variousembodiments, if user-provided email prefix does not match a prefixtemplate associated with the employer, the verification score may belowered, step 460. In various embodiments, other types of verificationmay also be performed.

As an example of e-mail prefix comparison, the following steps may beperformed:

1) Determine what the user's provided corporate email prefix address isin, e.g.: userfirstname.borrower-lastnameΩemployer.com, user-firstnameuser-lastname@employer.com,user-firstinitial.user-lastnameΩemployer.com, etc.

2) Check if the user-provided work email prefix address has a prefixformat that matches the prefix format for that employer (based on adatabase of known prefix formats for different employers). For exampleat Employer One, if the email address for an employee is in the format:user-firstname.user-lastnameΩemployerone.com, a user named John Doe'swho works for Employer One would ideally be John.Doe@employerone.com.Accordingly, if a user named “John Doe” provides their work e-mailaddress as J.Doe@employerone.com, the risk taker or verification servermay not believe that John Doe works at Employer One. In cases where theuser-provided prefix matches the corporate email prefix format, theverification score may be raised.

In additional embodiments, the user provided email address may be usedfor additional verification steps, step 470. For example, the userprovided email address may be compared to a social media network to seeif there is a mapping between the user provided email address and theuser. For example, if John.doeΩemployerone.com maps to the user onLinkedIn.com and Plaxo, the chance of John Doe working at Employer Oneis higher than if the user provided email address is not associated withanyone on LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, Google+, or the like. If not, theverification score may be lowered, step 480.

In some embodiments of the present invention, an e-mail may begenerated, step 490 and sent to the user-provided work e-mail address,step 500. In various embodiments, the email message includes analphanumeric code, token password, input request, URL, instructions forthe user, or the like. If the e-mail message bounces, i.e. the employerserver does not recognize the prefix, the domain name is invalid, aninactive account notice is returned, or the like, step 500, theverification score may be lowered, step 510.

In various embodiments, the user receives the e-mail message at theuser's work e-mail address, step 520. In various embodiments, the usermay respond to the mail via a popup window from the e-mail message; viaa reply e-mail, a new e-mail message, attach a photo, or the like, step530. By requiring a response from the user, the risk taker orverification server receives confirmation that the user-provided e-mailaddress is a valid email address. In some embodiments, the e-mailmessage includes a link that the user must click to reply. In someembodiments, the environment (e.g. browser, IP, GPS coordinates) of thatclick can be saved and forwarded back to the employment verificationorganization. If the user does not respond, gives an incompleteresponse, or does not respond in the appropriate manner, the employmentverification score may be lowered, step 540.

In some embodiments, the required user response may be calling aspecific telephone number, and performing an action. Examples of actionsmay include speaking a message, entering a numeric token provided by thee-mail message, receiving a specific numeric token, performing acalculation (e.g. adding two numbers), responding to a captcha image,providing data requested (e.g. Mother's maiden name), or the like. Invarious embodiments, when the user calls-in, the telephone number thatthe user is using may also be used for determining the verificationscore. For example, based upon caller-id, C-name record, CID, CLID, orthe like, the telephone number is recorded, and that telephone number iscompared to a database of telephone numbers owned by specific employers.Accordingly, if a user states she works for HP, and the telephone numbershe calls from is owned by HP, the probability the user works for HP ishigher.

In various embodiments, to reduce the chance of a user (who does notwork for the company) is not using a friend's e-mail account (who worksat the company) for verification purposes, the e-mail recipient may beput on notice that if the recipient is not the user, the recipient isfinancially vouching for (e.g. guaranteeing) the financial risk (e.g.loan, lease, etc.).

Next, in various embodiments, the employment verification score GUI maybe determined, as discussed above, step 550, and the GUI may be returnedto the risk taker or the verification service, step 560. In someembodiments, the degree of matching may be returned in an e-mail, textmessage, graphical user interface, web page, or the like.

In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the user isrequested to send an e-mail to a specific e-mail address associated withthe risk taker or the verification server, as an initial step. As anexample, a common address for the email from the user to be sent to maybe: borrower@loanpayer.com or borrower+33323@loanpayers.com, or thelike. In such embodiments, the user will send an email message to thisaccount from their corporate/work e-mail account.

In various embodiments, verification processes may also be performed, asdescribed above, to determine the verification score, such as the domainname, the prefix, the FROM fields (see RFC 822), the Return-Path, IPaddress(es) and the like. Additional e-mail fields upon which analysismay be performed are also contemplated.

Types of claims envisioned covering the above embodiments may includeemployment verification via sending or receiving e-mail to/from a user:

1. A computer-implemented method for verifying employment of a user witha computer system programmed to perform the method comprising:

receiving with the computer system, an organization represented by theuser as an employer on a user-application;

receiving with the computer system, an e-mail address provided by theuser, wherein the e-mail address is represented by the user as an e-mailaddress of the user at the employer;

determining with the computer system, whether the e-mail addressprovided by the user is associated with the employer;

determining with the computer system, an association indicatorassociated with the user in response to the domain name and/or prefix ofthe e-mail address provided by the user being determined to beassociated with the employer;

determining with the computer system an employment verificationindicator associated with the user in response to the associationindicator; and

outputting with the computer system the employment verificationindicator.

The user initiating the e-mail process:

2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving with the computer system, thee-mail address provided by the user, comprises receiving an e-mailmessage from the user from the e-mail address.

The verification server initiating the e-mail process:

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining with the computer system, a required action for the user;

sending with the computer system, an e-mail message to the e-mailaddress including the required action for the user; thereafter

receiving with the computer system, an action indicator indicating thatthe user has performed the required action; and

wherein determining with the computer system the employment verificationindicator associated with the user is also in response to the actionindicator;

Response message includes a token or indicator:

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the receiving with the computer system,the action indicator indicting that the user performed the requiredaction comprises receiving with the computer system, a message from theuser selected from a group consisting of: a reply e-mail message, ane-mail message, a text message, a SMS, a web form submission.

Types of actions the user performs to prove the received the e-mailmessage:

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the receiving with the computer system,the action indicator indicating that the user performed the requiredaction comprises receiving data selected from a group consisting of: atextual message, a web form submission, a code, a pre-determined outputmessage, a portion of a pre-determined output message, a picture, ascreen shot, a spoken message, a response, or GPS coordinates.

Clicking upon a web link:

6. The method of claim 3

wherein the required action is associated with a user-selectable weblink; and

wherein the receiving with the computer system, the indicator indictingthat the user performed the required action comprises receiving with thecomputer system, an indication that the user clicked upon theuser-selectable web link.

Matching domain names:

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining with the computersystem, whether the e-mail address provided by the user is associatedwith the employer comprises determining whether a portion of the domainname is associated with the employer, wherein the portion is selectedfrom a group consisting of: top-level domain name, second-level domainname, third-level domain name.

Matching multiple domain names:

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the determining with the computersystem, whether the e-mail address provided by the user is associatedwith the employer comprises determining whether the top-level domainname, the second-level domain name, and the third-level domain name areall associated with the employer.

Matching domain names:

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the determining with the computersystem, whether the e-mail address provided by the user is associatedwith the employer comprises comparing the domain name to a database ofdomain names associated with the employer.

Expected user name prefixes matches:

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining with the computersystem, whether the e-mail address provided by the user is associatedwith the employer comprises determining whether a prefix of the e-mailaddress provided by the user matches a prefix template associated withthe employer.

An example of matching prefixes:

12. The method of claim 11

wherein the prefix template associated with the employer includes afirst name indicator and a last name indicator,

wherein the first name indicator is selected from a group consisting of:a first name initial, a full first name; and

wherein the last name indicator is selected from a group consisting of:a last name initial, a full last name.

Requesting the user application:

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending a web-formrequesting the first user to provide a name of the employer of the firstuser and the e-mail address of the user at the employer.

Verifying the e-mail address is properly formatted, prior to sending:

/e-mail must verify before an e-mail is sent/

14. The method of claim 3 wherein sending with the computer system, thee-mail message to the e-mail address including the required action forthe user comprises: sending with the computer system, the e-mail messageto the e-mail address only when the e-mail address provided by the useris determined to be associated with the employer.

Locations for the code or token in the e-mail message:

15. The method of claim 3

wherein the e-mail message includes a code on a subject line of thee-mail message; and

wherein the receiving with the computer system, the action indicatorindicating that the user performed the required action comprisesreceiving the code from the user.

Types of tall-through verifications:

16. The method of claim 1

wherein when the e-mail address provided by the user is not determinedto be associated with the employer, the method comprises a step selectedfrom a group consisting of:

determining user-identified employment data from a social profile of theuser in one or more social networks;

determining with the computer system, an IP address associated with theuser;

determining and outputting with the computer system, a telephone numberassociated with the organization to a call center;

initiating with the computer system, a public search on one or morepublically available databases for information associated with the firstuser;

initiating with computer system, a request to the user for a copy ofincome verification records;

determining with the computer system, an organization associated with adomain name of an e-mail address provided by the first user;

determining with the computer system, an organization associated with atelephone number provided by the first user;

determining with the computer system, an organization associated withemployer direct deposits into a financial account of the first user; and

determining with the computer system, a organization associated withuser tax-related documentation.

A enabling hardware system:/

17. A computer system coupled for verifying employment of a first userwith a computer system programmed to perform the method comprising:

a memory configured to store an organization represented by the user asan employer on a user-application; and

a processor coupled to the memory,

wherein the processor is instructed by executable software code toreceive an e-mail address provided by the user, wherein the e-mailaddress is represented by the user as an e-mail address of the user atthe employer;

wherein the processor is instructed by executable software code todetermine whether the e-mail address provided by the user is associatedwith the employer;

wherein the processor is instructed by executable software code todetermine an association indicator associated with the user in responseto the domain name of the e-mail address provided by the user beingdetermined to be associated with the employer;

wherein the processor is instructed by executable software code todetermine an employment verification indicator associated with the userin response to the association indicator; and

wherein the processor is instructed by executable software code tooutput the employment verification indicator to a remote server.

User initiates e-mail verification:

18. The computer system of claim 17

wherein the processor is instructed by executable software code toreceive with the computer system, the e-mail address from an e-mailmessage provided by the user.

Server initiates e-mail verification:

19. The computer system of claim 17

wherein the processor is instructed by executable software code todetermine a required action for the user;

wherein the processor is instructed by executable software code to sendan e-mail message to the e-mail address including the required actionfor the user;

wherein the processor is instructed by executable software code toreceive an action indicator indicating that the user has performed therequired action; and

wherein the processor is instructed by executable software code todetermine the employment verification indicator associated with the userin response to the association indicator and in response to the actionindicator.

Server receives initial e-mail message:

20. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the required actioncomprises receiving with the computer system, a message from the userselected from a group consisting of: a reply e-mail message, an e-mailmessage, a text message, a SMS, a web form submission.

Additional types of claims envisioned covering the above embodiments mayinclude employment verification via sending or receiving e-mail to/froma user. Receiving a confirmation message from the user's work e-mailaddress:

1. A computer-implemented method for verifying employment of a user witha computer system programmed to perform the method comprising:

receiving with the computer system, an organization represented by theuser as an employer on a user-application;

receiving with the computer system, an e-mail message from the user froma user email address;

determining with the computer system, whether the user email address isassociated with the employer;

determining with the computer system, an association indicatorassociated with the user when the user email address is determined to beassociated with the employer;

determining with the computer system an employment verificationindicator associated with the user in response to the associationindicator; and

outputting with the computer system the employment verificationindicator.

Do portions of domain names match:

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining with the computersystem whether the e-mail address is associated with the employercomprises determining whether a portion of the domain name is associatedwith the employer, wherein the portion is selected from a groupconsisting of: top-level domain name, second-level domain name,third-level domain name.

Do multiple portions of the domain names match:

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining with the computersystem, whether the e-mail address is associated with the employercomprises determining whether the top-level domain name, thesecond-level domain name, and the third-level domain name are allassociated with the employer.

Database of domain names:

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining with the computersystem, whether the e-mail address is associated with the employercomprises comparing with the computer system, a domain name of thee-mail address to a database of domain names associated with theemployer.

Expected e-mail address prefixes match:

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining with the computersystem, whether the e-mail address is associated with the employercomprises determining whether a prefix of the e-mail address matches aprefix template associated with the employer.

Examples of prefixes match:

6. The method of claim 5

wherein the prefix template associated with the employer includes afirst name indicator and a last name indicator,

wherein the first name indicator is selected from a group consisting of:a first name initial, a full first name; and

wherein the last name indicator is selected from a group consisting of:a last name initial, a full last name.

What else does the e-mail contain:

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the e-mail message includes dataselected from a group consisting of: a textual message, a pre-determinedoutput message, a portion of a pre-determined output message, a picture,a screen shot, a spoken message, a response, GPS coordinates.

Where is the e-mail address found:

8. The method of claim 1

wherein the e-mail message comprises a plurality of header data;

wherein the user email address is stored in a portion of the pluralityof header data; and

wherein the portion is selected from a group consisting of: a fromfield, a reply-to field.

Fall-through processes for verification:

9. The method of claim 1

wherein when the e-mail address provided by the user is not determinedto be associated with the employer, the method comprises:

determining user-identified employment data within a social profile ofthe user in one or more social networks.

Requesting the e-mail:

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

sending with the computer system to the user a request that the usersend the e-mail message from the user e-mail address to a pre-determinede-mail address; and

wherein receiving with the computer system, the e-mail message from theuser from the user email address comprises receiving with the computersystem, the e-mail message in an inbox associated with thepre-determined e-mail address.

In other embodiments, an e-mail message need not be sent to theuser-provided e-mail address for the employment verification process. Insuch cases, based upon the user name, and employer name, theverification server may determine an expected user e-mail address. Invarious embodiments, using the employer name, a database of employere-mail domain names may be referenced, to determine the expectedemployer e-mail domain name. For example, if a user is a employee ofGoogle, Inc., the expected employer e-mail domain name is not“gmail.com,” but “Google.com.” Next, the expected prefix (in front ofthe @ symbol) may be determined using the employee name and a databaseof employer name formats. For example, for company A, for a user named“John Smith” the format may be “john.smith,” whereas for company B, theformat may be “john_smith,” or the like. Together the expected prefixand expected domain name are combined to form an expected e-mail addressfor the user at the company.

In various embodiments, instead of sending an e-mail message to theexpected e-mail address, as discussed above, the expected e-mail addressmay be sent to an e-mail server associated with the expected domainname. In response, the e-mail server may accept or reject message. Arejection message may indicate that the user does not actually work atthe employer, and an acceptance may indicate that the user does actuallywork at the employer. In various embodiments, the verification server,or the like sends the expected e-mail address of the user to the mailserver via port 25, 587, or any other port that supports thisfunctionality.

In some cases, an acceptance of an expected e-mail address of the usermay not indicate that the user works at the employer, if the e-mailserver also accepts obviously invalid e-mail addresses. For example, ifsmithjohn@google.com is accepted by the e-mail server, and234234lfjadoifeiorugewoiruwpeafadnzm.cxvnzdsfjoj24j23423489oijfas@google.comis also accepted by the e-mail server, this process does not validatethe expected e-mail address of the user at the company. Accordingly, insome embodiments, an actual e-mail message may have to be sent includinga token, or the like, as discussed above.

Types of claims envisioned covering the above embodiments may includedetermining whether an expected e-mail address will bounce:

1. A computer-implemented method for determining in near real-time anemployment verification score on a computer system programmed to performthe method, comprising:

receiving in the computer system, a name of an individual;

receiving in the computer system, an employer name, wherein the employername is provided by the individual and is represented by the individualas an employer of the individual;

determining in the computer system, at least one e-mail domain namesassociated with the employer in response to the employer name;

determining in the computer system, at least one expected user namesassociated with the individual, in response to the employer name and inresponse to the name of the individual;

determining in the computer system, at least one expected e-mail addressassociated with the individual in response to the e-mail domain name andthe expected user name;

sending from the computer system, the expected e-mail address associatedwith the individual to an e-mail server associated with the e-maildomain name;

determining in the computer system, whether the expected e-mail addressassociated with the individual is rejected from the e-mail server; and

outputting from the computer system, an employment verification scoreassociated with the individual in response to whether the expectede-mail address associated with the individual is rejected.

Performing a look up for a corporate e-mail domain name in a database:

2. The method of claim 1

wherein the determining in the computer system, the e-mail domain namecomprises determining from an e-mail domain name data structurereferenced by the computer system, an e-mail domain name associated withthe employer in response to the employer name.

The database may be a remote database:

3. The method of claim 2

wherein the data structure comprise an e-mail domain name data structurestored in a server remote from the computer system.

Performing a look up for a corporate e-mail domain name in a searchengine:

4. The method of claim 1

wherein the determining in the computer system, the e-mail domain namecomprises outputting by the computer system, a query to a search engine.

Guessing the user name based upon a template of the employer (based upondatabase or search):

5. The method of claim 1

wherein the determining in the computer system, the expected user nameassociated with the individual comprises:

determining with the computer system, a user name template associatedwith the employer in response to the employer name; and

determining with the computer system, the expected user name associatedwith the individual in response to the user name template associatedwith the employer and to the name of the individual.

Types of expected e-mail name guessing:

6. The method of claim 1

wherein the expected user name comprises a permutation of data selectedfrom a group consisting of: a first name of the user, a second name ofthe user, a middle name of the user, a initial of a first name of theuser, an initial of a second name of the user, an initial of a middlename of the user, a period symbol, an underscore symbol, a number.

Examples of guessed or expected e-mail names:

7. The method of claim 1

wherein the name of the individual comprises a first name and a secondname; and

wherein the an expected user name comprises a string of charactersselected from a group consisting of: the first name and the second name;an initial of the first name and the second name; the first name and aninitial of the second name; the first name, a character, and the lastname.

Finding out the address of the corporate e-mail server:

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining in the computersystem, an IP address associated with the e-mail server in response tothe employer name.

Sending a ping to the corporate e-mail server (e.g. Port 25 . . . ):

9. The method of claim 1 wherein sending from the computer system, theexpected e-mail address comprises sending from the computer system, theexpected e-mail address associated with the individual to the emailreceiving port of the e-mail server.

Quickly performing these types of lookups in near real time. Payment canvary:

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:

receiving in the computer system, an option to purchase a sales leadfrom a third party, wherein the sales lead comprises the name of theindividual and the employer name, and wherein the option is valid for alimited time period;

accepting in the computer system, the option to purchase the sales leadfrom the third party when the employment verification score is above athreshold, within the limited time period after receiving the option topurchase the sales lead.

Determining whether clearly invalid e-mail address are also accepted ornot:

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining in the computersystem, whether the expected e-mail address associated with theindividual is rejected comprises:

-   -   determining in the computer system, whether the expected e-mail        address associated with the individual is rejected from the        e-mail server;    -   sending from the computer system, a suspected invalid e-mail        address to the e-mail server associated with the e-mail domain        name;    -   determining in the computer system, whether the suspected        invalid e-mail address is not rejected from the e-mail server;        and    -   determining in the computer system, whether the expected e-mail        address associated with the individual is rejected by        determining with the computer system, when the expected e-mail        address is rejected or when the invalid e-mail address is not        rejected from the e-mail server.

In some embodiments, if the suspected invalid e-mail address is acceptedby the e-mail server associated with the e-mail domain name, theemployment verification score may or may not change.

FIGS. 5A-C illustrate graphical user interfaces (GUIs) according tovarious embodiments of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 5Aillustrates a GUI 830. As can be seen, GUI 830 prompts the user tofill-in a number of user specific data, 840. In addition, in thisexample, GUI 830 also enables the user to verify themselves on a socialnetwork via icons 850. In some other embodiments, icons 850 may not bedisplayed.

As seen in FIG. 5B a pop-up window 800 can be displayed on top on anon-line application window 810. In various embodiments, pop-up window800 prompts a user for a work e-mail address. In some embodiments, whenthe user provides the work e-mail address, an e-mail message may be sentto the user for verification purposes.

FIG. 5C illustrates an example of a GUI window 820 that prompts the userto enter a token (e.g. number, code, etc.) that they received on theirprovided e-mail address. In various embodiments, if the code entered bythe user matches the one sent, for example, the e-mail address may beverified.

FIGS. 6A-C illustrate graphical user interfaces (GUI) according tovarious embodiments of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 6Aillustrates a first GUI 600 outputting employment verification scores610 and associated data to a reviewer associated with a risk taker orverification service. In various embodiments, this GUI providesdashboard-type functionality to a reviewer. With the dashboardinterface, if the reviewer would like to review areas 620 which helpedincrease or decrease the verification score, in various embodiments, thereviewer may simply click upon the desired entry. Additionally,employment verification data derived from various data sources 620, e.g.social networks, may also be illustrated to the reviewer. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 6A, e-mail verification results,described in FIG. 4, may also be provided 630 to the reviewer. Invarious embodiments, employment verification may be binary (e.g.verified or not), or, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, employment verificationmay have a scored range, 640.

In other embodiments of GUI 600, other types data may also be displayedto the reviewer, such as news articles about the employer(user-represented employer) or the employer's industry, search enginesearch results regarding the employer, names of other people whorepresent they work at the employer, names user's friends who work atthe employer, a percentage of user's friends who work at the employer,and the like.

FIG. 6B illustrates a second GUI 700 that may be returned to a reviewerat a risk taker or a verification service. In this embodiment, agraphical representation 710 of an employment verification score may beprovided. Also, flags 720 that lower an employment score may beillustrated to the reviewer. In such embodiments, a reviewer may clickupon the one or more flags 720 to review the user-entered data, thesocial network data, or the like that causes the flag.

In other embodiments, many other problems or flags may be raised basedupon the various verification schemes described herein. For example, asillustrated in flag 730, an IP conflict is raised to the reviewer. Asdescribed below, such a flag may be raised if the IP address of theuser, when the user fills-in the application does not match the IPaddress of the employer, or the like. Of course, a discrepancy in IPaddress may be due to the user filling-in an on-line application whileon vacation, and on non-company time. In such a case, a reviewer of thisIP address problem may simply review the data, and reject anymodification of the employment verification score.

FIG. 6C illustrates an example of a GUI window 740 that may be displayedto a risk taker or a verification service. This embodiment illustratesdata retrieved from a user's social network, more specifically socialcontacts (e.g. friends) who report working at the same employer as theuser. As discussed above, the larger the number of social contacts thatreport working at the same employer, the higher the probability that theuser actually works there. Further, in other embodiments, the quantity,quality, and/or frequency of contact with these social contacts may alsoreflect upon the probability that the user works at the purportedemployer.

Employment Verification Concept—IP Address and Phone-Based Verificationof User Represented Employer

In some embodiments, another source of data that may be used to verifyan employer may be via an IP address of the user. Typically, an IPaddress and/or ranges of IP addresses associated with a specificemployer or organization. Accordingly, in some embodiments of thepresent invention, when the user fills-in an on-line application, the IPaddress of the user's machine may be determined. By using a reverse DNSlookup, or the like, a DNS-derived corporate name/employer may bedetermined based upon the IP address. In some embodiments, a database ofsuch correspondences is accessed. In various embodiments, theDNS-derived employer name may be compared to any other source ofemployer name described herein to determine the verification score.

In other embodiments, the IP address may be correlated to a physicalgeographic region. That geographic region may be compared to physicalgeographic regions associated with the employer. Using such embodiments,if the employer name provided by an applicant is Stanford Hospital inCalifornia, but the IP address the applicant is sending an applicationfrom is in the Philippines, the likelihood that the applicant actuallyworks at Stanford may be lower.

In embodiments, another source of data that may be used to verify anemployer may be via a user-provided work telephone number. Similar toabove, associations between telephone numbers and a specific employer oran organization may be known. Accordingly, in the application theuser-provided telephone number may be compared to a database oftelephone numbers owned by specific companies or organizations. Forexample, if a user-provided telephone number is associated withFacebook, but if the user application states she works for Google, theprobability the user works for Google decreases.

In other embodiments, the telephone number may be correlated to aphysical geographic region. That geographic region may be compared tophysical geographic regions associated with the employer. Using suchembodiments, if the employer name provided by an applicant is the Cityof Chicago, but the telephone number the applicant is providing in theapplication is from India, the likelihood that the applicant actuallyworks for the City of Chicago may be lower.

Combinations of the above are also envisioned in various embodiments,for example, comparing the physical address of an IP address to thephysical address of a provided telephone number. Types of claimsenvisioned may include:

1. A computer-implemented method for determining in near real-time anemployment verification score on a computer system programmed to performthe method, comprising:

receiving in the computer system, a name of an individual;

receiving in the computer system, an employer name, wherein the employername is provided by the individual and is represented by the individualas an employer of the individual;

determining in the computer system, an IP address associated with theemployer name;

determining in the computer system, a first geographic region associatedwith the IP address;

receiving in the computer system, a work telephone number, wherein thework telephone number is provided by the individual and is representedby the individual as a telephone number associated with the individualat a workplace associated with an employer of the individual;

determining in the computer system, a second geographic regionassociated with the work telephone number; and

outputting from the computer system, an employment verification scoreassociated with the individual in response to the first geographicregion and the second geographic regions.

Determining a scoring:

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the employment verification scoreassociated with the individual is higher when the first geographicregion and the second geographic region overlap than when the firstgeographic region and the second geographic region do not overlap.

Determining a geographic location:

3. The method of claim 1

wherein the determining in the computer system, a first geographicregion associated with the IP address comprises determining in thecomputer system, a longitude and latitude associated with the IPaddress.

Determining a geographic location given an IP address:

4. The method of claim 1

wherein the determining in the computer system, the second geographicregion associated with the work telephone number comprises determiningin the computer system, a longitude and latitude associated with thework telephone number.

Determining whether the phone number is unreliable:

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining in the computer system whether the work telephone number isassociated with a cellular telephone number or a voice over IP telephonenumber; and

reducing the employment verification score when the work telephonenumber is determined to be associated with a cellular telephone numberor a voice over IP telephone number.

Using publically available search engines:

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

outputting from the computer system, the employer name to a queryengine;

receiving in the computer system, search results from the query engine;

determining in the computer system, whether the search results do notindicate existence of an employment entity associated with the employername

reducing the employment verification score when the search results aredetermined to not indicate existence of the employment entity associatedwith the employer name.

Near real time responses:

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:

receiving in the computer system, an option to purchase a sales leadfrom a third party, wherein the sales lead comprises the name of theindividual and the employer name, and wherein the option is valid for alimited time period; and

outputting from the computer system, acceptance of the option topurchase the sales lead to the third party within the limited timeperiod after receiving the option to purchase the sales lead, when theemployment verification score is above a threshold.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the limited time period is less thanapproximately 5 seconds.

Employment Verification Concept—Depository-Data Based Verification ofUser Represented Employer

In some embodiments of the present invention, another source of datathat may be used to verify an employer may be via Depository data (e.g.Bank deposits). In various embodiments, when an employer performs adirect deposit, the name of the employer, payment reference numbers,data, a deposit amount, etc. appear on the user's bank account. Theseare typically known as ACH header data. In various embodiments, usingservices such as, Yodlee.com, BillFlow.com, Mint.com, or the like, theACH header data may be obtained by the verification server. Based uponthis data, the verification server can verify the employer, based uponthe employer name (using any one of the name matching schemes describedherein) and the deposit amount. For example, if Yodlee.com-based datareturns a direct deposit by an employer named Safeway, and theuser-provided employer name is Safeway, the probability the user worksfor Safeway increases. In other embodiments, access to depository datamay be performed directly upon bank web sites, such as WellsFargo.com,BoA.com, or the like, if the user provides appropriate account names andpasswords (e.g. during the application process).

Employment Verification Concept—Evidentiary-Based Verification of UserRepresented Employer

In some embodiments of the present invention, another source of datathat may be used to verify an employer may be via direct evidence, suchas a W2, pay stub, an employee identification card, a tax return, acompany credit card, business card, or the like. In some embodiments,the user digitizes and submits the digital image to a receiving server.In various embodiments, the employer name derived for such submissionsmay be compared to any other source of employer name described herein.Additionally, the amounts of income may be also used to help determinewhether the user is financially able to undertake the financial risk.

In some embodiments, in order to verify income or paycheck data, a usermay be prompted to provide certain numbers on their latest pay check, orthe like. The data that may be requested may include payer name, currentamount or year to date deductions for FICA tax, Medicare, Federal tax,state tax; current or year to date earnings, net pay, or the like. Invarious alternative embodiments, the user may upload a scan or photo oftheir pay check, and these types of data may be derived from an OCR ofthe scan. In other embodiments, the user may simply enter the numbersbased upon keyboard input.

The inventor has recognized that many of these numbers, such as Medicaredeductions, Federal tax withheld, Unemployment insurance, and the likeare based upon a known formula with regards to earnings. Accordingly, ifa user submits such numeric data, embodiments of the present inventioncan help determine if the numbers submitted by the user are genuine orlegitimate. If, for example, the deductions are much smaller than theamount expected based upon the user reported income, it is possible thatthe user reported income has been falsely inflated. Of course manydeductions are subject to caps, accordingly, various embodiments may usemore than one set of predicted deductions versus actual deductions todetermine whether the paycheck data is accurate, or not.

As an example, a user making $1000 per month is subject to $21.50 inState withholding from the beginning of the year. Later, beginning inJune, the State withholding is increased to $21.75. Later, in October,the user applies for a payday loan, and is asked to enter theyear-to-date (YTD) state withholding number as of the end of September.Based upon the above assumptions, the correct amount on the paycheckstub should be (($21.50 per month×5 months)+($21.75 per month×4months)=$194.50). Accordingly, if the YTD state withholding numberentered (e.g. $200) is not the same as the calculated amount ($194.50),the probability that the pay check is genuine decreases, and often, theprobability that the user works for the purported employer alsodecreases.

Additional Sources of Employment Verification Data

In various embodiments, any two or more sources of employment data,described above, may be compared to determine an employment verificationscore. For example, the user-provided employer name in an applicationmay be compared to an employer associated with the user's corporatee-mail address; the user employer represented in a user's first socialnetwork profile may be compared to the user employer represented in auser's second social network profile; an employer name found on theuser's W2 statement may be compared to an employer associated with theuser's work telephone number; and the like.

In some embodiments, depending upon the verification score determinedbased upon two sources of employment data, one or more additionalsources of employment data may also be used to determine the employmentverification score. Such additional determination may be termed a“waterfall” analysis. As one example, a first user fills in “IBM” in anemployment field on an application, and using one of the e-mailverification techniques described above, verifies their IBM e-mailaddress; and a second user fills in “Microsoft” in an employment fieldon an application, but their work telephone number is not associatedwith Microsoft. In such cases, the first user may have a high employmentverification score, and thus no further employment verification may beasked of the first user, or performed. In contrast, the second user mayhave a low employment verification score, thus, the user may be askedfor additional data for employment verification purposes, such an socialnetwork access, a user work e-mail address, or the like. Described beloware additional verification sources. In some embodiments, any two of theherein disclosed verification sources may be used.

DROP down: In some embodiments, the steps described above may bemodified. For example, initially a user may provide access to the user'ssocial graphs (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc.), and employmentdata may be retrieved. Next, based upon the employment data, variousfields of a user's financial application may be automatically filed in,drop boxes provided to the user may be automatically populated, or thelike. In some embodiments, the user may be encouraged to use theirsocial networks

In such embodiments, another source of an employer name is a userselection of a drop-down menu or auto complete entry provided byembodiments of the present invention. In various embodiments, the usermay be asked for their corporate e-mail address, or the like. Once theuser provides this, a look-up is performed to determine what company orcompanies are associated with or own the domain name. Subsequently, whenthe user is asked via the web form, phone app, or the like, who theywork for, the names of the company or companies automatically populate adrop-down menu. In another case, when the user begins to type letters,auto-complete suggestions are provided for the user to select from.

Embodiments of the auto-complete or drop-down menu may be helpful tohelp reduce the need for the fuzzy matching process described above inFIG. 2. As an example, if a person's employer e-mail address isIssac@II.MIT.edu, a determination is made that the domain name isassociated with “The Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” and“Lincoln Laboratories.” Then, in one embodiment, when the person isasked to enter their employer name, a drop down-menu containing eitheror both: “The Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” and “LincolnLaboratories,” or the like In an auto-complete embodiment, when theperson types in the letter “L,” “Lincoln Laboratories” wouldautomatically be filled-in for the user; when the person types theletter “T” or “M,” “The Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” wouldautomatically be filled-in for the user. Embodiments are believed to bebeneficial to reduce the ambiguity of user filled-in employer names. Forexample alternative employer names for the user in the example aboveinclude: “MIT,” “M.I.T.,” “MIT Lincoln Labs,” “Lincoln Labs,” “The MIT,”“Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” and the like.

In light of the present disclosure, one of ordinary skill in the artwill now recognize that many additional types of employment verificationtechniques may be used in conjunction with the techniques describedherein. For example, one technique may include providing the user name,the employer name, and the like to a verification provider. In variousembodiments, the verification provider may be associated with anemployment verification service (e.g. checking user name against anemployment database for a fee), the verification provider may beassociated with a call-center employment verification service (e.g. athird party service making a telephone call to the HR of the employerfor a fee), the verification provider may simply be a person associatedwith the risk taker (e.g. an HR person of the risk taker makingtelephone calls to the HR of the employer); or the like.

Types of claims envisioned covering the above embodiments may include ageneralized employment verification process:

1. A computer-implemented method for verifying employment of a user witha computer system programmed to perform the method comprising:

receiving with the computer system, a first plurality ofemployment-related data for the user;

determining with the computer system, a first name associated with anorganization in response to the first plurality of employment-relateddata;

receiving with the computer system, a second plurality ofemployment-related data for the user;

determining with the computer system, a second name associated with anorganization in response to the second plurality of employment-relateddata;

determining with the computer system, a relationship between theorganization associated with the first name and the organizationassociated with the second name, in response to the first name and tothe second name;

determining with the computer system, an employment verificationindicator in response to the relationship between the organizationassociated with the first name to the organization associated to thesecond name; and

outputting with the computer system, the employment verificationindicator.

Types of First data:

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first plurality ofemployment-related data is selected from a group consisting of: IPaddress associated with the user; a social network profile of the userassociated with a first social network, and bank account depositorydata.

Additional types of First data:

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first plurality ofemployment-related data is selected from a group consisting of: a webform submission by the user, a work e-mail address of the user, a worktelephone number of the user, a publically-available data source pulldown menu with employment related data, a fee-based data source, awork-related document (w2).

Types of SECOND data:

4. The method of claim 2

wherein the second plurality of employment-related data are notidentical to the first plurality of employment-related data;

wherein the second plurality of employment-related data is selected froma group consisting of: IP address associated with the user; a socialnetwork profile of the user associated with a first social network, bankaccount depository data, a form submission by the user, a work e-mailaddress of the user, a work telephone number of the user, apublically-available data source, pull down menu with employment relateddata, a fee-based data source, a work-related document (w2).

Verification with at least three types of data:

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving with the computersystem, a third plurality of employment-related data for the user;

determining with the computer system, a third name associated with anorganization in response to the third plurality of employment-relateddata; and determining with the computer system, a relationship betweenthe organization associated with the first name and the organizationassociated with the third name, in response to the first name and to thethird name; and

wherein determining with the computer system, the employmentverification indicator is also in response to the relationship betweenthe organization associated with the first name to the organizationassociated to the third name; and

wherein the first plurality of employment-related data, the secondplurality of employment-related data, and the third plurality ofemployment-related data are selected, without replacement, from a groupconsisting of: IP address associated with the user; a social networkprofile of the user associated with a first social network, bank accountdepository data, a form submission by the user, a work e-mail address ofthe user, a work telephone number of the user, a publically-availabledata source, pull down menu with employment related data, a fee-baseddata source, a tax-related document.

An ARIN lookup:

6. The method of claim 1

wherein the first plurality of employment-related data comprises an IPaddress associated with the user; and

wherein determining with the computer system, the first name associatedwith the organization comprises:

-   -   providing with the computer system, the IP address associated        with the user to a remote look-up server; and    -   receiving with the computer system, the first name associated        with the organization from the remote look-up server.

A Social Network lookup:

7. The method of claim 1

wherein the first plurality of employment-related data comprises asocial network profile associated with the user; and

wherein determining with the computer system, the first name associatedwith the organization comprises:

-   -   receiving with the computer system, an OAuth token associated        with the user and a social network;    -   sending with the computer system, a request for the first        plurality of employment data from the social network; and    -   receiving with the computer system, the first plurality of        employment-related data from the social network.

A bank account depository data lookup, e.g. Yodlee, Billflow

8. The method of claim 1

wherein the first plurality of employment-related data comprises anidentity of a financial account depositor; and

wherein determining with the computer system, the first name associatedwith the organization comprises:

-   -   providing with the computer system, identity information of the        user to a third-party server;    -   receiving with the computer system, transaction details of one        or more financial account deposits to a financial account        associated with the user, from the third-party server; and    -   determining with the computer system, the first name associated        with the organization in response to the details of the one or        more financial account deposits.

Waterfalling to additional verification sources:

9. The method of claim 1 wherein when the employment verificationindicator is less than a threshold, the method further comprises:

-   -   receiving with the computer system, a third plurality of        employment-related data for the user;    -   determining with the computer system, a third name associated        with an organization in response to the third plurality of        employment-related data; and    -   determining with the computer system, a relationship between the        organization associated with the first name and the organization        associated with the third name, in response to the first name        and to the third name; and    -   determining with the computer system, the employment        verification indicator in response to the relationship between        the organization associated with the first name to the        organization associated to the third name.

Waterfalling to additional verification sources:

10. The method of claim 1 wherein when the employment verificationindicator is less than a threshold, the method further comprises:

determining with the computer system a telephone number associated withthe organization associated with the first name from a database; and

outputting with the computer system, a report comprising a name of theuser, the first name associated with the organization, and the telephonenumber, to a verification provider.

Waterfalling to additional verification sources:

11. The method of claim 1 wherein when the employment verificationindicator is less than a threshold, the method further comprises:

outputting with the computer system, a report comprising a name of theuser and the first name associated with the organization to anemployment verification server.

Graphical user interfaces:

12. The method of claim 1 wherein outputting with the computer system,the employment verification indicator comprises:

generating with the computer system, a specification of a graphical userinterface, in response to the employment verification indicator, whereinthe graphical user interface includes a representation of the employmentverification indicator; and

providing with the computer system, the specification of the graphicaluser interface to a remote computer system.

Enabling computer systems:

13. A computer system coupled for verifying employment of a first userwith a computer system programmed to perform the method comprising:

a memory configured to store executable software code; and

a processor coupled to the memory,

wherein the processor is instructed by the executable software code toreceive a first plurality of employment-related data for the user;

wherein the processor is instructed by the executable software code todetermine a first name associated with an organization in response tothe first plurality of employment-related data;

wherein the processor is instructed by the executable software code toreceive a second plurality of employment-related data for the user;

wherein the processor is instructed by the executable software code todetermine a second name associated with an organization in response tothe second plurality of employment-related data;

wherein the processor is instructed by the executable software code todetermine a relationship between the organization associated with thefirst name and the organization associated with the second name, inresponse to the first name and to the second name;

wherein the processor is instructed by the executable software code todetermine an employment verification indicator in response to therelationship between the organization associated with the first name tothe organization associated to the second name; and

wherein the processor is instructed by the executable software code tooutput the employment verification indicator.

GUI:

14. The computer system of claim 13

wherein the processor is instructed by the executable software code todetermine a specification of a graphical user interface, wherein thegraphical user interface includes the employment verification indicator,a name of the user, and the first name associated with the organization.

Employment Stability Concepts

In various embodiments employment stability may be also determined basedupon social network data. For example, an indication may be calculatedthat reflects how often a user changes jobs. If a user changes jobsevery 6 months, such a user would possibly be a higher default risk forloan repayment compared to a user who changes jobs every 4 years.

Additionally, employer stability may also be used within the financialrisk analysis. For example, an indication may be calculated thatreflects how stable the employer is. If a user currently works forKodak, such a user would possibly a higher default risk for a mortgagerepayment compared to a user who currently works for Facebook.

In other embodiments, other types of user representations in anapplication for a financial risk may also be verified, such as residence(and duration of residence), income history and sources, and the like.In still other embodiments, the above techniques may also becrowdsourced.

Types of claims envisioned covering the above embodiments may includedetermining stability of the applicant:

1. A computer-implemented method for determining a user work-stabilityindicator with a computer system programmed to perform the methodcomprising:

receiving with the computer system, a first plurality of social networkdata associated with a user from a first social network server, whereinthe first plurality of social network data includes a plurality of namesassociated with organizations represented by the first user as employerson a user-profile on the first social network, wherein the first socialnetwork server comprises a network server associated with: Facebook,Google+, Twitter, Linked In, Plaxo, MySpace, and a plurality of datesassociated with the plurality of names;

determining with the computer system, an employment stability indicatorassociated with the user in response to the plurality of names andplurality of dates; and

outputting with the computer system, the employment verificationindicator associated with the user.

Basing stability upon social network timelines/

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the plurality ofnames associated with organizations is associated with a plurality ofsocial network profiles associated with the user and associated with theplurality of dates.

Additional Concepts

Other embodiments may be applied to verify almost any type of assertionmade by a user, such as educational background or educationalenrollment. For example, in some embodiments, educational background maybe verified using similar techniques described above, such asdetermining the number of social network contacts a user has that attendthe educational institution, whether the user's friends communicatefrequently with the user, or each other, whether the user has astudent-specific-format e-mail address provided by the educationalinstitution, and the like. Another embodiment of checking foreducational background or educational enrollment might be the checkingfor the user's ability to send or receive email at an.edu address domainaddress.

In other embodiments, the techniques described here may be applied tobackground checking of the user for various purposes. In one embodiment,for an affinity group or special interest group, backgrounds of newmembers or potential members may be scrutinized before being consideredfor or extended membership. For example, an animal rights group may wantto make sure that a new member or potential member is not a “spy” for ameat-packing lobbyist. In such a case, the rights group may check thesocial graph of the new member to see who the new member works for;check to see if the interest groups of the new member are related toanimal-rights; check to see if friends of the new member have interestsin animal-rights/environmental rights; or the like. If, for example, thenew member is found to post pictures involving hunting; the new memberis found to have many friends in the NRA; or the like, the animal rightsgroup may decide to not accept the member or kick the member out. Asanother example, a conservative political group may want to give eventtickets to people who are politically conservative, and to excludepeople who may protest, e.g. politically progressive. In such a case,the conservative group exclude people who work for particular employers(e.g. The Sierra Club”), exclude people who are connected to certainpeople (e.g. are socially connected to: a Kennedy), or the like. In somecases, the conservative group may include people who are “Fans” of RushLimbaugh, or the like, or the like.

In various embodiments, the above background checking techniques may beperformed automatically processing the derived data using variousaffinity group related-ness scores, by processing the derived data viaKlout.com-relatedness, or the like.

The above embodiments may also be used to help determine which personsto hire, who to extend housing to, or the like. Various embodimentsshould, of course, should comply with all laws and regulations regardingnon-discrimination based upon protected classes (e.g. age, sex, ethnicbackground, etc.).

Types of claims envisioned covering the above embodiments may includedetermining incompatibility of an applicant:

1. The computer-implemented method for determining membershipdisqualification with a computer system programmed to perform the methodcomprising:

receiving with the computer system, an application for membership in aspecial interest group;

receiving with the computer system, a first plurality of social networkdata associated with the user from a first social network server,wherein the first plurality of social network data includes a pluralityof interest groups selected by the first user, wherein the first socialnetwork server comprises a network server associated with: Facebook,Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, MySpace, and a plurality of datesassociated with the plurality of names;

determining with the computer system, an incompatibility indicator is inresponse to whether the plurality of interest groups is incompatiblewith the special interest group; and

outputting with the computer system, the incompatibility indicator to amoderator associated with the special interest group.

Based upon friends of the applicant:

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1

receiving with the computer system, a first plurality of social networkdata associated with the user from a first social network server,wherein the first plurality of social network data includes a firstplurality of social contacts associated with the first user;

receiving with the computer system, a second plurality of social networkdata associated with a first contact from the plurality of socialcontacts, wherein the second plurality of social network data comprisesa plurality of interest groups associated with the first contact; and

wherein determining with the computer system, the incompatibilityindicator is also in response to whether the plurality of interestgroups associated with the first contact is incompatible with thespecial interest group.

In various embodiments, the fuzzy logic matching that is applied tocorporate name matching (e.g. IBM v. International Business Machines),and for is applied to personal name matching (e.g. Steve v. Stephen v.Steven) may be performed by third-party vendors.

In the present disclosure, the following definitions are provided:

“A user-application” refers herein to a form completed by the user wherethe user provides the name of their employer. Some ways the user may dothis includes a web form submission; a text entry via an phone “app;” atext entry or fill-in-the-dot paper form, followed by scanning/opticalcharacter recognition; or the like, A user represents that he/she isemployed by that employer on such a user-application.

“Social connections” or “social contacts” include, but is not limitedto, Facebook friends, LinkedIn Contacts, Twitter followers, etc. of theuser. Social connections or social contacts can imply co-workers orfellow employees of the user. In various embodiments, it is believedthat the more Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections or other socialmedia connections that a user has at that same employer, the more likelyit is that the user actually works for that employer. In someembodiments, as the number of interactions with these social connections(co-workers) within the social network increases, the likelihood of theperson working at the employer may be deemed to increase.

In other embodiments, other types of social networks or common-interestgroups may be used to determine how connected an applicant (e.g. user)is to others who work at the purported employer. Similar to the above,based upon a first social network of an applicant, social contacts UserA and User B are found to work at the same purported employer. Next, ifwithin a second social network, the applicant and users A and B aredetermined to interact frequently, the probability of the applicantworking at the employer is higher. In some embodiments, these types ofcommon-interest groups may include: fraternal organizations (e.g. RotaryClub), ham radio organizations, teachers' unions or teachers'organizations, mall-walking groups, religious organizations (e.g. JewishWar Veterans), or the like.

In still other embodiments, membership of a user in a groupclosely-linked with the purported employer may also increase theprobability of the user working with the purported employer. Forexample, if an applicant (e.g. user) claims to work for Chicago Board ofEducation, the applicant may have an increased employment verificationscore if the applicant can also prove membership with the Teachers'Union, or the like,

“oAuth” is a token supplied by the user that enables a computer systemthat is provided with that token, access to user-authorized data of thesocial network of the user.

“Publically available social network data” includes social network datacan be accessed by the computer system without user permission, e.g. asocial connection. This can include data that users of the socialnetwork can access or non-users of the social network can access. Thiscan also include data from fee-based databases or data aggregators, datafrom search engines, or the like.

The present invention relates to employment verification and/or scoring.The methods described below are computer-implemented techniquesperformed on one or more computer systems that are specificallyprogrammed by executable software code to perform the functionsdescribed below. A general-purpose computer having a processor, amemory, and a network connection may be programmed by this executablesoftware code to become a special purpose computer system that performsthis functionality. In some embodiments, the general-purpose computermay include a display, a user entry device (e.g. keyboard, mouse), andthe like. In some embodiments, the special purpose computer system maycommunicate with other special purpose computer systems, such as adatabase, remote server, a user machine, a security server, or the like,via the network connection. Some embodiments may be executed on such ageneral-purpose computer and the functionality of such embodiments maybe available via one or more callable application program interfaces(APIs) or XML call. In certain cases, an API call might be performed ina form of an XLM call.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of typical computer system 900 according tovarious embodiment of the present invention. In various embodiments,computer system 900 typically includes a monitor 910, computer 920, akeyboard 930, a user input device 940, a network interface 950, and thelike. Computer system 900 may be used by a user to provide a graphicaluser interface for the application process; or may be used by averification service or the risk taker to generate the user graphicaluser interfaces, to send data to and receive data from a social networkserver, to determine verification scores/indicators, as describedherein; or the like.

In the present embodiment, user input device 940 is typically embodiedas a computer mouse, a trackball, a track pad, wireless remote, and thelike. User input device 940 typically allows a user to select objects,icons, text, control points and the like that appear on the monitor 910.In some embodiments, monitor 910 and user input device 940 may becombined such as with an interactive touch screen display or pen baseddisplay such as a Cintiq marketed by Wacom, or the like.

Embodiments of network interface 950 typically include an Ethernet card,a modem (telephone, satellite, cable, ISDN), (asynchronous) digitalsubscriber line (DSL) unit, and the like. Network interface 950 istypically coupled to a computer network as shown. In other embodiments,network interface 950 may be physically integrated on the motherboard ofcomputer 920, may be a software program, such as soft DSL, or the like.

Computer 920 typically includes familiar computer components such as aprocessor 960, and memory storage devices, such as a random accessmemory (RAM) 970, disk drives 980, and system bus 990 interconnectingthe above components.

In one embodiment, computer 920 is a PC compatible computer havingmultiple microprocessors such as Core™ microprocessor from IntelCorporation. Further, in the present embodiment, computer 920 mayinclude a UNIX-based operating system. RAM 970 and disk drive 980 areexamples of tangible media for storage of non-transient: images,operating systems, configuration files, embodiments of the presentinvention, including computer-readable executable computer code thatprograms computer 920 (e.g. processors 960) to perform the abovedescribed functions and processes, and the like. For example, thecomputer-executable code may include code that directs the computersystem to perform various functions such as receiving input data from auser, calling APIs of a social network, receiving social network data,sending and receiving of e-mail messages, and any of the processingsteps described herein; or the like.

Other types of tangible media include floppy disks, removable harddisks, optical storage media such as CD-ROMS, DVDs, Blu-Ray disks,semiconductor memories such as flash memories, read-only memories(ROMS), battery-backed volatile memories, networked storage devices, andthe like.

In the present embodiment, computer system 900 may also include softwarethat enables communications over a network such as the HTTP, TCP/IP,RTP/RTSP protocols, and the like. In alternative embodiments of thepresent invention, other communications software and transfer protocolsmay also be used, for example IPX, UDP or the like.

FIG. 7 is representative of computer systems capable of embodying thepresent invention. It will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skillin the art that many other hardware and software configurations aresuitable for use with the present invention. For example, the use ofother microprocessors are contemplated, such as Core™ or Itanium™microprocessors; Opteron™ or Phenom™ microprocessors from Advanced MicroDevices, Inc; and the like. Additionally, graphics processing units(GPUs) from NVidia, ATI, or the like, may also be used to acceleraterendering. Further, other types of operating systems are contemplated,such as Windows® operating system such as Windows7®, Windows8®, or thelike from Microsoft Corporation, Solaris from Oracle, LINUX, UNIX, MACOS from Apple Corporation, and the like. Other embodiments may includeportable devices such as phones, tablets, and the like. For example,computer system 900 may include iOS devices (e.g. iPhone, iPod, iPad),Android devices (e.g. GalaxyS3, Razr), WindowsMobile devices (e.g.Lumina), or the like.

Further embodiments can be envisioned to one of ordinary skill in theart after reading this disclosure. In other embodiments, combinations orsub-combinations of the above disclosed invention can be advantageouslymade. The block diagrams of the architecture and flow charts are groupedfor ease of understanding. However it should be understood thatcombinations of blocks, additions of new blocks, re-arrangement ofblocks, and the like are contemplated in alternative embodiments of thepresent invention.

The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, beevident that various modifications and changes may be made thereuntowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the claims.

We claim:
 1. A computer-implemented method for verifying employment of auser with a computer system programmed to perform the method,comprising: receiving with the computer system, a first plurality ofemployment-related data associated with the user; determining with thecomputer system, a first identifier associated with a first organizationfrom the first plurality of employment-related data received; receivingwith the computer system, a second plurality of employment-related dataassociated with the user; determining with the computer system, a secondidentifier associated with a second organization from the secondplurality of employment-related data received; determining with thecomputer system, a first relationship between the first organization andthe second organization based on the first and second identifiers;determining with the computer system, an employment verificationindicator based on the first relationship.
 2. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of employment-relateddata is selected from a group consisting of: IP address associated withthe user; a first social network profile associated with the user; bankaccount depository data associated with the user; a form submission bythe user; a work e-mail address of the user, a work telephone number ofthe user; a publically-available data source; a pull down menu withemployment related data; a fee-based data source; and a work-relateddocument.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein thesecond plurality of employment-related data is selected from a groupconsisting of: IP address associated with the user; a first socialnetwork profile associated with the user; bank account depository dataassociated with the user; a form submission by the user; a work e-mailaddress of the user, a work telephone number of the user; apublically-available data source; a pull down menu with employmentrelated data; a fee-based data source; and a work-related document. 4.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first pluralityof employment-related data comprises a social network profile of theuser associated with a social network; and wherein determining with thecomputer system, the first identifier associated with the firstorganization comprises: receiving with the computer system, an OAuthtoken from the user to access the social network; requesting with thecomputer system, the first plurality of employment-related data from thesocial network by sending the OAuth token received along with one ormore API or XML calls to the social network; receiving with the computersystem, the first plurality of employment-related data from the socialnetwork; and determining with the computer system, the first identifierfrom the first plurality of employment-related data received from thesocial network.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, whereinthe second plurality of employment-related data comprises an IP addressassociated with the user; and wherein determining with the computersystem, the second identifier associated with the second organizationcomprises: providing with the computer system, the IP address associatedwith the user to a remote look-up server for determining the secondidentifier; and receiving with the computer system, the secondidentifier associated with the second organization from the remotelook-up server.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, whereinthe second plurality of employment-related data comprises an identity ofa financial account depositor associated with the user; and whereindetermining with the computer system, the second identifier associatedwith the second organization comprises: providing with the computersystem, identity information of the user to a third-party server;receiving with the computer system, transaction details of a financialaccount deposit to a particular financial account depositor associatedwith the user, from the third-party server; and determining with thecomputer system, the second identifier associated with the firstorganization based on the transaction details.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein when the employment verification indicator is determined to beless than a threshold, the method further comprises: receiving with thecomputer system, a third plurality of employment-related data associatedwith the user; determining with the computer system, a third identifierassociated with a third organization from the third plurality ofemployment-related data received; determining with the computer system,a second relationship between the first organization and the thirdorganization based on the first and third identifiers; and determiningwith the computer system, the employment verification indicator based onthe second relationship.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein when theemployment verification indicator is determined to be less than athreshold, the method further comprises: determining with the computersystem, a telephone number associated with the first organization from adatabase; and outputting with the computer system, a report comprisingan identifying name associated with the user, the first identifierassociated with the first organization, and the telephone number, to averification provider.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein when theemployment verification indicator is determined to be less than athreshold, the method further comprises: outputting with the computersystem, a report comprising an identifying name associated with the userand the first identifier associated with the first organization to averification provider.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the first plurality of employment-related data comprisesemployment information from a user-application, and wherein the secondplurality of employment-related data comprises interest-group membershipinformation, the method further comprises: determining with the computersystem, an association between the employment information and theinterest-group membership information; and determining with the computersystem, based on the association, an interaction level of the userwithin an interest group identified from the interest-group membershipinformation; and wherein the employment verification indicator is alsodetermined based on the interaction level.
 11. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 10, wherein the interest group is selected from a groupconsisting of: a fraternal organization, a ham radio group, a religiousorganization, a teachers' organization, a union, a fitness group, aprofessional organization.
 12. A computer-readable medium for verifyingemployment of a user, comprising computer-executable instructions thatwhen executed causes a processor to: receive a first plurality ofemployment-related data associated with the user; determine a firstidentifier associated with a first organization from the first pluralityof employment-related data received; receive a second plurality ofemployment-related data associated with the user; determine a secondidentifier associated with a second organization from the secondplurality of employment-related data received; determine a firstrelationship between the first organization and the second organizationbased on the first and second identifiers; determine an employmentverification indicator based on the first relationship; and to outputthe employment verification indicator.
 13. The computer-readable mediumof claim 12, further comprising computer-executable instructionsprogrammed to: output the employment verification indicator on agraphical user interface (GUI); and determine a specification of theGUI.
 14. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the firstplurality of employment-related data comprises a social network profileof the user associated with a social network, and wherein thecomputer-readable medium further comprises computer-executableinstructions programmed to: receive an OAuth token from the user toaccess the social network; request the first plurality ofemployment-related data from the social network by sending the OAuthtoken received along with one or more API or XML calls to the socialnetwork; receive the first plurality of employment-related data from thesocial network; and determine the first identifier from the firstplurality of employment-related data received from the social network.15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the secondplurality of employment-related data comprises an identity of afinancial account depositor associated with the user, and wherein thecomputer-readable medium further comprises computer-executableinstructions programmed to: provide identity information of the user toa third-party server; receive transaction details of a financial accountdeposit to a particular financial account depositor associated with theuser, from the third-party server; and determine the second identifierassociated with the first organization based on the transaction details.16. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein, when theemployment verification indicator is determined to be less than athreshold, the computer-readable medium further comprisescomputer-executable instructions programmed to: receive a thirdplurality of employment-related data associated with the user; determinea third identifier associated with a third organization from the thirdplurality of employment-related data received; determine a secondrelationship between the first organization and the third organizationbased on the first and third identifiers; and determine the employmentverification indicator based on the second relationship.
 17. A computingdevice for verifying employment of a user, comprising: an inputmechanism to receive a user selection of a employment-related datasource; a display; and a processor configured to: determine anemployment verification indicator based on the user selection of theemployment-related data source; and generate, via the display, agraphical user interface for presenting the employment verificationindicator.
 18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the employmentverification indicator is determined based on the user selection of atleast two employment-related data sources.
 19. The computing device ofclaim 18, wherein the processor is further configured to: display a flagfor a particular employment-related data source to indicate that theparticular employment-related data source negatively impacts theemployment verification indicator.
 20. The computing device of claim 17,wherein the input mechanism is further to receive a view request to viewcontents of a particular employment-related data source, and wherein theprocessor is further configured to: derive the contents from theparticular employment-related data source; and present the contents onthe graphical user interface.